Keshia Knight Pulliam is speaking out for the first time following the death of her longtime friend and former co-star Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

On Sunday, July 27, Pulliam posted an emotional tribute on Instagram, calling Warner her “big brother” and honoring their decades-long bond. “A week ago I lost my big brother, but I gained an angel… I love you… I miss you… We got our girls,” she wrote. The message was accompanied by a clip of Warner playing bass guitar at City Winery in Atlanta, followed by a brief video of two young girls walking alongside a horse. This quiet moment appeared to reflect their daughters, who were close just like their parents.

Warner passed away on July 21 while on a family vacation in Costa Rica. The country’s Judicial Investigation Agency confirmed the cause of death was asphyxiation by submersion. He was 54 years old.

Knight Pulliam and Warner became household names as Rudy and Theo Huxtable on “The Cosby Show”, which ran from 1984 to 1992. Their sibling dynamic on-screen evolved into a real-life friendship that never faded. Just one month before his passing, the two reunited for an episode of Warner’s podcast “Not All Hood NAH”, where they reflected on growing up in the industry, maintaining their bond, and watching their daughters form a connection of their own.

“She is more than my friend, she is family,” Warner said on the podcast. Knight Pulliam echoed the same, calling their relationship deeper than TV history. “He’s stuck with me for life,” she joked.

Knight Pulliam shared that their daughters, born just three months apart, had recently spent time together. “Our daughters adore each other,” she said, adding that being parents brought their relationship into a new chapter.

On her Instagram Stories, she thanked everyone who reached out with support, writing, “I’ve just needed a moment.